Most Covid travel restrictions in the Canary Islands will be scrapped from this week in a massive boost for holidaymakers ahead of the Easter break. Rules set to be ditched include a limit on capacity in both indoor and outdoor venues which will now be able to operate at 100 percent.
Cultural activities such as theatres and cinemas will also be able to open at 100 per cent capacity. Other entertainment activities including sports events and leisure activities will also open at 100 per cent capacity from Thursday, reports the Canarian Weekly .
President of the Canary Islands government, Ángel Víctor Torres, announced: "It is not the end of the pandemic, of course not, we must remain vigilant and if the situation worsens we will have to reintroduce them." The president also confirmed vaccine had impacted positively with 84 per cent of the population now jabbed.
He said changes were "the next stage of normality for society” and is possible because authorities now had more tools to deal with the control of the virus and appearance of new variants. However, the full list of restrictions being banished will be revealed on Thursday.
The regional president stressed that this is a temporary suspension of the general and regional measures that, if circumstances worsen, can be reactivated again. The changes cover the Canary Islands region, which includes Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria.
Rules on face masks and Covid passports will still apply as they are national laws in use throughout Spain. Face coverings must still be used indoors and there are now plans to ease this requirement. However, the tourism industry is hopeful long-standing restrictions on nightclubs will be lifted with dancing finally given the go-ahead to resume.
UK holidaymakers need to be fully-vaccinated to travel to Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands unless they have a recent recovery certificate. Younger people aged between 12-17 are able to enter Spain without being vaccinated but will need to have a negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours.
They also need to complete a Spanish passenger locator form before travel to the country. Meanwhile, hopes that mask rules would be eased in the Balearic Islands before Easter have been dashed.
Minister of health Carolina Darias said: “We need to see whether the use of masks should continue to be mandatory on public transport, in crowds and in vulnerable environments. This is what we want to do, to know the advice on how masks should be eliminated and I assure you that it will be sooner rather than later."
The Balearic Islands region covers favourite holiday destinations of Majorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera. Some 84 per cent of hotels in the Balearics are expected to be open for Easter.
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